A vaporizer is a device used to extract the active ingredients of plant material, e.g., tobacco, or other herbs or blends, for inhalation by a human. Vaporization involves heating a material so that its active compounds boil off into a vapor. As opposed to smoking, i.e., burning, vaporization avoids the production of irritating, toxic, and carcinogenic by-products. In fact, no combustion occurs, so no smoke or taste of smoke is present. Studies show that vapor contains substantially zero particulate matter or tar, and, in comparison to smoking, significantly lower concentrations of noxious gases such as carbon monoxide. It has also been shown that, in comparison to other drug delivery methods, such as ingestion, vaporization has a more rapid onset of pharmacological effect, direct delivery into the bloodstream (via the lungs), and more precise titration such that the desired level is reached and not exceeded, enabling consistent and appropriate dosage.
Generally, those vaporizers utilizing convection-based heating methods employ the use of a heating element by which air passes through, or is in contact with, such that the temperature of the air is heated sufficiently to extract an herb's natural ingredients. To remove an herb's active ingredients the effective vapor temperature varies depending on the type of supplied herb, but generally ranges from 350 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. After the active ingredients from the herb are boiled off into a vapor, it generally is too hot to be comfortably and/or safely inhaled by a human being. As such, many vaporizes utilize hoses (also called “whips”), elongated chambers, and large heat sinks to reduce the temperature of the vapor so it is safe and comfortable for human inhalation. For most known vaporizers, the vaporization process requires an assembly or casing that is cumbersome and not easily portable. Those assemblies that are portable are too large to conceal within a standard-sized pant pocket and do not allow the device to be effectively and conveniently transported. Most of these vaporizes also require the unit to be plugged in to an electric outlet, which is inconvenient for those persons without access to electricity.
To effectively reduce the temperature of the vapor so it can be consumed, many hand-held vaporizers utilize an elongated chamber that reduces the vapor to a desired temperature. This elongated chamber commonly creates an assembly that is in the general shape of a flashlight with a nozzle-type mouthpiece at the end. There are numerous disadvantages associated with the elongated shape of the vaporizer. With the mouthpiece coupled to the end of the device it becomes readily identifiable as a smoking-type apparatus, which many users find undesirable. Few, if any, of those hand-held vaporizers easily conceal the mouth piece, without removal into multiple components, which can be easily misplaced and/or dropped. As most mouth pieces are not easily concealable, and because they generally have at least one opening disposed to the outside environment to inhale the vapor, the device also becomes susceptible to liquids and debris from entering, which may contaminate the device's functionality. Those vaporizers that are shaped in an elongated fashion also typically require the vaporizer to be subject to the time-intensive task of disassembling it into multiple components in order for the user to insert the herbs. As such, few vaporizers allow a user to insert and remove herbs into the vapor chamber quickly and efficiently without at least partially disassembling the device.
To allow the vapor temperature to reduce to comfortable and safe ranges, many known vaporizers have their heating element at a location 4-6 inches away from the mouthpiece or inhaling area. In such configurations, which are in-line with most known vaporizers that are elongated, the vapor is given more time to dissipate the heat. This, however, negatively creates an inconsistent temperature at the mouthpiece that is dependent on the inhaling rate of the user. For example, as a user inhales faster, the air from the outside environment passes more quickly past the heating element which in turn reduces the temperature at the mouthpiece. A slower inhale rate produces a higher temperature at the mouthpiece because the incoming air is in contact with the heating element longer. This can lead to a less effective release of the active ingredients in the herbs, should the user inhale very fast. Furthermore, as the temperature generally varies, depending on the inhaling rate, many hand-held vaporizers require a user to inconveniently adjust their breathing rate to produce the desired temperature at the mouth piece. As the temperature generally varies, most known portable hand-held vaporizers do not allow the user to have an optimized air flow, a safe vapor temperature at the mouth piece, and a highly potent vapor containing the herb's active ingredients.
To compensate for the sporadic temperature at the mouthpiece and to form a more compact body of the vaporizer, many known vaporizers utilize conduction-based, as opposed to convection-based, heating, i.e. direct contact of the herb with a heated material. These known vaporizers overcome sporadic vapor temperatures by placing the heating element closer to the mouthpiece. These vaporizers are able to accomplish this as there is no fluid that is required to be heated. Conduction vaporizers have their own set of problems, however, and are generally considered inferior to convection-based heated vaporizers. Convection heating is more efficient as the heated fluid, “air,” is in contact with more surface area of the herb. This in turn provides a more potent vapor and does not require the user to adjust the herbs. Convection-based heating vaporizers further allow a user to control the heating element more effectively than those conventional conduction-based heated vaporizers. This also allows for a generally more potent vapor, as the user increases the chances that all of the herb's active ingredients are boiled off into the vapor. As such, few, if any, known vaporizers are able to utilize convection heating into a compact discrete design that creates safe and comfortable vapor temperatures.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.